Carl dittmae



V srscrrrcA'rton formi U ITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' CARL DITTMAR,-OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

EXPLOSIIVIE COMPOUND.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, CARL DITTMAR, of the city of New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Explosive Compound, which I provisionally term Ohlornitrosaccharose, which compound is fully described in the following specification.

This invention relates to the class of high explosive compounds, and is intended to sup-' plant nitro-glycerinc audits combination with other materials on account of its cheapue'ss and its greater safety in manufacture, use, and transportation.

Hitherto it has been very difficult to free intro-sugar from the superfluous acid remaining after nitroing canesugaror sucrose. It is best to have the sugar dissolved in some liquid which would also combine with nitric acid in order to nilro the sugar thoroughly and to be able to wash the superfluous acid out afterward. Glycerine hasbeen used to dissolve cahe-sugaror sucrose, and the solution was nitroed afterward; but the glycerine does not dissolve sugar very readily, and the temperature rises very high and quick while mixing the-acids with the glycerinesugar. l have tried many other liquids; butlfouud chlorhydrin best for dissolving cane-sugar or sucrose for subsequently nitroing, as it dissolves more sugar than common glycerine does, and the temperature rises much less than when the .chlorhydrin sugar is treated with a mixture of from three nitric and sulphuric acid than it does with a mixture of sugar and common glycerine.

I manufacture the new compound as follows: I take, for instance, ten parts of chlorhydrin (G H GIO to six parts or more of white sugar. Of this mixture I take one part and mix it in seven parts ofa mixture of sulphuric and nitric acid as it is known to be used in the manufacture of gun-cotton, &e. :The mixture of chlorhydrin and cane sugar or sucrose eanbe put in the acid bath quicker than a mixture of glycerine and cane-sugar or sucrose, as the temperature does not rise as high and the compound does not take fire as easily. Therefore the manufacture of chlornitrosaccharose is not so dangerous as the manufacture of nitro-sugar in and dissolve in it by gentle heat ng' pa rt of Letters Patent No. 252,600, dated January 24, 1882.

Application filed November 7, 1881. (N6 specimens.) 7 Q combination with glycerin. The compound must be thoroughly washed out from super 'fluous acid, as any other nitro compound.

The chlornitrosaccharose can be mixed with any other material to make powders of different grades of strength. For instance, from forty to eighty parts of chlornitrosaccharose can be combined with from sixty to twenty parts of similar mixturesas are used in the manufacture of dualin and other explosive compounds of the same character; but if a very large percentage of cane-sugar or sucrose has been used it is too thick to mix it with other materials, and it must be thinned with or dissolved in other liquids-for instance, in wood alcohol, or anyother liquid which would combine with or dissolve the chlornitrosaccharose.

The chlornitrosaccharose needs a very strong exploding-cap to explode it. and it is not as liable to'explode by concussion as intro-glycerine is. Therefore any mixture with other materials is not intended to make the compound safer, but to make it cheaper. It is cheaper than nitro-glycerinc, as the price of glycerine is more than three times higher than that of sugars lfthe chlornitrosaccharose is combined with other combustible or explosive materials-for compound, which consists in the formation of a chlornitrosaccharose or nitro-sugar by dissolving cane-sugar or sucrose in chlorhydrin and then converting the same into a nitro compound, substantially as described.

' 2. The compound hereinbefore decribed, provisionally termed chlornitrosaccharose.

CARL DITTMAR.

Witnesses:

WM. H. Foamy, J AMEs F. THoMsoN. 

